My Slate Roof

Hi There

hopefully you can give me some advice

My terraced property has its original Welsh slate roof tiles .In its been re-roofed previously probably about 25 years ago .

2 years back when I moved in I had part of the back roof redone , they used the original slate but made a terrible job of it , had to have them back 3 times , poor workmanship .

I'm now having to do the whole roof as its failing - rough cost between 12 - 18k in variation of quotes based on new versus old slate

My question is I'm thinking of either using part old tiles on the front and new Spanish slate on the back , I've had 3 quotes has anyone used old welsh slate or new and what would you suggest ?

I would prefer to use some of the old slate its on good condition they will re-drill holes this time, they will resource reclaimed for missing or damaged tiles

Thanks Pete

We used Welsh slate new in a past life, it’s brilliant and definitely is more durable than Spanish slate, also doesn’t look as “unnatural” (to my eyes at least) when newly installed but it’s not cheap.

That said, post Brexit etc there might be less of a price difference these days.

Depends how long you/your family are planning to stay there really

I can't comment on slate specifically, but certainly with tiles I've got a direct comparison. Our main roof was re-done with new tiles - the cost of scaffold to get up there was substantial, probably only about a third of the original tiles were salvageable. In the 15 years since it was done, I've replaced 1 tile, and I suspect that was broken when it was installed.

My garage I did with reclaimed tiles - very carefully sorted & inspected reclaimed tiles. Even so, after every winter there are always a few that need replacing.

Moral of the story is in using reclaims you do need to bear in mind that they won't last as long as equivalent quality new - and it's the access to change them that needs to be considered.

I’m staying there for a while no plans to move . It’s more about how long the old slate will last it looks in good condition- and I prefer it on my house as it suits the property . The roofers did a terrible job and it’s been really stressful. The just mixed the old slate with bits of new . Awful appearance.

I may have old on the front and new on the back .

The prices are high for both at the moment .

I know punching holes in slates is the traditional method, but is it really true that punching a new hole close to an existing one puts no stress loads into the slate? Common sense tells me that drilling a hole, especially in an old slate, is bound to be less stressful .
Or is slate inherently different from other materials and doesn't get stressed?

CliffordPope said:

I know punching holes in slates is the traditional method, but is it really true that punching a new hole close to an existing one puts no stress loads into the slate? Common sense tells me that drilling a hole, especially in an old slate, is bound to be less stressful .
Or is slate inherently different from other materials and doesn't get stressed?

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If you are using Welsh slate you will rattle through a lot of drill bits re-drilling holes. If the slate isn’t too narrow (I’d say 4” or less) or too thick (less than 10mm) then punching is fine - buy a dedicated punching tool if you aren’t confident in your accuracy with the back of a roofers hammer

I was thinking of the stresses set up in the material that might shorten long-term use, especially if you are punching new holes in an old slate, necessarily making the new holes in the same line and quite close to the first holes.

Potentially, but stress problems are really only likely to manifest on the roof if you hammer the nail down too hard on the slate, fixing it too hard to the batten. Otherwise it is just "hanging" from the top of the hole and should be fine. I will repeat my caveat that all my experiences on this thread are from welsh slate (new and reclaimed). No experience of anything else.

At risk of replying to myself, I do ultimately dislike slates, and given the choice will do interlocking clay double romans every time. Currently in negotiations with planning whether our extension roof really does have to match the rest of the house

I have to admit, I'm not a fan of slates either and miss our lovely terracotta tiles on our previous arts and crafts house (in England) like crazy

Being in Wales now, we have slates on the old mill building in which we live. Unfortunately that wasn't always the case as - until an idiot previous owner sold them in 1999 - the property was once roofed in gorgeous stone tiles. Apparently, they sold them to pay for the renovations they were doing! Because the property wasn't listed - despite being 400 years old, same as our two closest neighbours which are listed - they got away with this.

Anyway, fast forward to when we purchased as a repossession in 2018, the extension had a patchwork polycarbonate roof which we had recovered in Spanish slate. Almost four years on and these are not holding up well, so I'd definitely not recommend those.

In an ideal world we'd replace all our slates - Welsh and Spanish - with reclaimed stone tiles, but God only knows how much that would cost!!!

Mims x

What problems are you having with the new slates, Mims?